Capt. Harris Arlen McCoy
Capt. Harris Arlen McCoy Jr MM, MNI – From High School to High Seas
By the Cayman Islands
Seafarers Association
Following in the footsteps of his father upon graduating from Cayman Islands High School in 1956 at age eighteen, Capt. McCoy left Cayman in August to pursue a career at sea. As he turns seventy this year few Caymanians have had so illustrious a career.
Moving from ships that although they were ‘super tankers’ in their day, now pale in size compared to the ones Capt. McCoy more recently commanded. He has worked so hard to achieve so much and had so many notable incidents that they cannot be contained in one article. It will therefore be necessary to chronicle his career in several issues and hopefully a book.
In a worn ‘blue folder’ is the original passport which Capt. McCoy traveled on when he left home for the first time, also countless certificates, licenses, letters of recommendation and other documents which he has preserved over the years.
Joining the S/S Percy Jordan in Philadelphia, PA. in August 1956 as a Mess man, he was not content to just ‘make a living’ by going to sea so in 1959 he graduated from the Merchant Marine School of the Seaman’s Church Institute of New York with his Third Mate’s License.
By 1965 he had studied through the ranks to obtain his Master Mariner Unlimited License and in 1966 was promoted to Captain, the first of Miss Gwen’s ‘boys’ to obtain a Masters License. He is the only Caymanian to hold a Cayman Islands Master’s Endorsement.
In 1993 he studied at Biloxi Marine Training Services and qualified as Mooring Master. The year 2001 found Captain McCoy completing a full range of STCW courses at Maritime Professional Training School at the Marine Technical Institute, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. He has served as Mooring Master with several companies since, the last being AET for ten years plus before leaving in November 2007.
In his own words, Capt. McCoy describes what he considers to be the pinnacle of his career to date.
In March 1993, I made a change in my seagoing career to the oil transfer section. This change all came about due to my association with Captain Harold Banks. Let me turn back the clock for a while; Harold and I first met in New York in November 1959. We were students at the Merchant Marine School of the Seaman’s Church Institute of New York, he for Second Mate and I for Third Mate License. It took a couple of days for us to find out who we were! I had met Capt. Fred Scott whom I had sailed with before the day I arrived at school, in fact I had met him on the street when I was walking to the school. He had completed his Third Mate’s License and was shipping out that day, so I got his room at the Seaman’s Institute
I next met Harold on board the SS Ore Mercury in July 1962, he was then Chief Mate. I joined as Fourth Mate and the late Langley Wood as Third Mate. We joined on July 23rd for a one week trip to Canada, because I was ashore waiting for a Second Mate’s berth. Of course the schedule changed and it was three months before I could get off. We again met in Jamaica in November, 1971 when he relieved me as Master on the SS J. Louis, on which we sailed together until March, 1973. He got in the oil transfer operation in Cayman Brac and for years we kept in contact, and he was always encouraging me to get in, so on Sunday, March 14, 1993 I was off to Houston with Capt. Banks to work with Skaugen Petro-Trans to be trained as a Mooring Master. I had to wait for awhile for an opening in staff. In September 1993 I was sent by Skaugen Petro-Trans to the Ship Maneuvering Simulator Centre at Trondheim, Norway. On completion, I became a full Mooring Master. The full explanation is a ship-to-ship Transfer Superintendent
Due to market needs and the amount of jobs obtained by the various companies involved, I shipped for a while from Skaugen Petro-Trans to Petroleum Logistics International Inc. and American Eagle Tankers Inc. All Houston, Texas based companies. Then on the 1st October 1997, due to increase in crude oil transfers, I obtained a long term contract with American Eagle Tankers, which lasted 10-plus years. I will now try to explain the names applied to the large crude oil Tankers.
- ULCC – Ultra Large Crude Carriers 350,000 SDWT and up to the largest at 564,763 SDWT.
- VLCC – Very Large Crude Carriers – 170,000 – 350,000 SDWT.
- Suezmax – For passage through the Suez Canal – 120,000 – 170,000 SDWT.
- Aframax – 80,000 – 120,000 SDWT.
- Panamax – 60,000 – 80,000 SDWT – For passage through Panama Canal
By the late 1980’s and early 1990’s the day of the ULCC was passed – only a few were still around and most laid-up or scrapped.
But as the oil production picked up these laid up ULCC’s were brought back into service. So in October 1998 AET got a contract to which I was assigned on T.T. Empress Des Mers, at 381.80 M or 1252.68 FT and a SDWT 423,747 MT for 5 Lifts. A Lift is the oil that is put in the Aframax Tanker to be taken in to US ports and averages about 500,000 net barrels.
Then came the T.T. Hellespont Grand at 378.0 MT or 1240.21 FT at 421,681 SDWT in February 1999. Then followed by T.T. Seaworld at 364.00 M or 1194.41 FT and SDWT 499,000 in April 1999. Then in March 2002 the contract that brought me to the pinnacle of my career, the world’s largest tankers, was given to me.
The T.T. Sea Giant at 414.22 M or 1359.0 FT and 554,974 SDWT on 15th March 2003. The largest ship ever built, this was the Sea Giant’s last voyage and then she was scrapped. Then on the 21st March 2003 this was followed by three Lifts on the largest of all, the T.T. Jahre Viking at 458.45 M or 1592.76 FT and 564,763 SDWT.
The Viking had become the largest ship by a lengthening of 100M in 1981. I was going to have three shots at the Viking but I did not need it. I was going to make a record on Lift # 1.
I boarded the service ship the MT Eagle Subaru an Aframax 246.87 M -810 FT and 95,675 SDWT on the afternoon of 21st March 2003 and prepared myself rigging hoses and baby fenders on the Service Ship and waited for the Viking to complete its transfer with our competitor Skaugen Petro Trans.
At 0112 Hrs 22nd March I was informed by the Captain that his ship was now ready for my operation, and I sent in my supply boat the American Explorer to deploy the large mooring fenders and the Assistant Mooring Master. At 0212 Hrs I was informed by the Captain of the T.T. Jahre Viking that fenders were rigged and he was ready to start operations for Mooring.
I ordered him at 0218 Hrs to start up moving and come up to a speed of 6 knots and a course of 320 degrees and let me know when he was on course and up to speed. At 0236 Hrs. the ship was up to speed and course and all check lists were again revised and I informed the Captain I would be coming alongside. The ships were alongside at 0248 Hrs and mooring was commenced.
At 0342 Hrs the ships were all fast with lines as follows, from M T Eagle Subaru 2 FWD springs and six head lines, 2 aft spring and four stern lines, from the Viking 4 head lines and 2 stern lines. This had been done in 1Hr and 24mins. A record that stands to be beaten. I have been able to cut 6mins off this time to 1hr 18mins on only two or three times in my career but under different conditions.
The ships anchored at 0506 Hrs and 2 -12” hoses were connected. Cargo transfer commenced at 0512 Hrs and was completed at 1430 Hrs, a record at 9Hrs 18mins, with a total 476,582 net barrels at a rate of 51,245 BPH, a record for AET! The operation was completed at 1748Hrs, a record of 15 Hrs 30mins for the STS operation.
The TT Jahre Viking to the best of my information made one more voyage into the US Gulf and was taken out of ocean service and converted to a storage ship and used off Bahrain Island in the Persian Gulf.
This article represents only a minute portion of the career of a remarkable Caymanian and will have to be presented in more than one issue in Cayman Net News. Also, there will be future articles featuring more of Capt McCoy’s career.
This article is part of a series of monthly features produced by the Cayman Islands Seafarers Association and printed in Cayman Net News. | 
